BART seeks your input on critical issues including fare increases

BART seeks your input on critical issues including fare increases

NOTE: The community meetings have now all been completed, and the online research survey closed Friday, March 30, 2012. However, you can always submit your feedback on any issue to BART by using the email comment form.

These topics will be discussed at 10 community meetings in March. View meeting schedule. If you are unable to attend one of these meetings, you may still provide feedback by reviewing the information below then taking an online survey.

Proposed Fare Increase

The BART Board-approved program for small, regular inflation-based fare increases has been key to keeping BART’s service safe and reliable. In order to continue providing such dependable service to a growing ridership, BART must replace its aging fleet of 669 train cars--most of which have been running since BART began operations in 1972--with new, more reliable cars.

While it will be several years before the first of the new train cars rolls down the rails, work on the project is already underway. The cost of the long-range replacement plan is estimated at over $3 billion. The majority of project funding will come from local, regional, state and federal government —with BART contributing 25 percent of the total.

To help fund BART’s contribution, BART is planning a small fare increase effective July 2012 that will raise approximately $5 million in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13). This revenue will be part of BART’s plans to fund a portion of the train car replacement project and other infrastructure needs, as our system is now almost 40 years old.

Your input is needed on possible fare change options that could generate approximately $5 million next fiscal year. The table below describes the three options, which include implementing the last of the current Board-approved inflation-based increases, and how you can determine your new fare, regular or 62.5% discount (for seniors, people with disabilities, and youths aged 5-12), under each option:

Option

How to Determine Your New Fare

A.

Implement the last of the current Board-approved inflation-based increases by increasing fares systemwide by 1.4%

Increase fares for trips between the East Bay and San Francisco by $0.10

Regular: Add $0.10 to the current fare for your trip between the East Bay and San Francisco

Discount: Reduce increased fare by 62.5%, and round down to nearest nickel

C.

Increase fares systemwide by $0.05

Regular: Add $0.05 to your current fare

Discount: Reduce increased fare by 62.5%, and round down to nearest nickel

The following table shows sample regular and discount fares for the three options.

Option

Minimum Fare

Walnut Creek - San Francisco

Hayward - Berkeley

Maximum fare

Current Regular Fares

$1.75

$4.75

$3.25

$10.90

A. 1.4% Inflation-Based Increase to All Regular Fares

$1.75

$4.85

$3.30

$11.05

B. $0.10 Increase to Regular Fares between the East Bay and San Francisco

$1.75

$4.85

$3.25

$11.00

C. $0.05 Increase to All Regular Fares

$1.80

$4.80

$3.30

$10.95

For the 3 Options: Discount Fares

$0.65

$1.80

$1.20

$4.10

BART’s Fare Increase Program

BART’s Board-approved fare increase program called for fares to increase by a small, inflation-based amount in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012. As noted above, BART is now gathering the public’s input about implementing the 2012 inflation-based fare increase or raising fares by another amount. BART is also asking for input on a proposal to continue using the current inflation-based formula in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. In each of these years, based on inflation projections, the estimated systemwide fare increase would be 3.9%.

By 2020, based on current assumptions, these four increases could add $50 million per year in new fare revenue. Some of the additional revenue could go toward buying new rail cars as described above. In addition, these funds could help pay for critical large-scale reinvestment in BART’s physical assets such as stations, the train control system, and the electrical system that powers the trains, which after almost 40 years in operation are wearing out or worn out. BART is projected to need $7.5 billion more than is currently available to make all the needed system reinvestments, and this huge funding gap is a real challenge.

The formula BART uses to calculate the amount of the increase averages the changes in national and local inflation over a two-year period, and then subtracts one-half percent to account for improved BART labor and operating efficiencies. The resulting percentage increase is applied to fares that are then rounded to the nearest nickel.

The table below shows sample fares for 2014 that would result if fares were increased by an inflation-based 1.4% effective July 2012 and by an inflation-based projected 3.9% in 2014.

Clipper Card Distribution for Seniors and Youth

BART is part of “Clipper,” the regional fare payment system. Seniors and youth can get their discounted fare automatically by using the discounted Clipper card. The discounted Clipper card takes the place of red and green BART tickets. BART wants to ensure that eligible BART customers can readily obtain discounted cards in their communities. Your input is necessary to determine the adequacy of existing locations to obtain Clipper cards and to comment on what would be adequate for you and your community.